20 replies to this topic

[Requiemking]

Is there such a thing as a decent Summoner build? Or is it that no one has ever bothered to make one on account of the mech being bad?

EDIT: designed a possible long-range build.

SMN-PRIME

Edited by Requiemking, 16 July 2016 - 08:36 PM.

[Audacious Aubergine]

I wouldn't say "bad" so much as I'd say "incapable of boating weapons and thus incompatible with the current meta"
Here's a possibly effective brawler build, LB-20X swappable for UAC20 depending on preference SMN-PRIME

Edited by Audacious Aubergine, 16 July 2016 - 09:36 PM.

[Gun Sarge]

The summoner is not a bad mech if you play to its agility and really shines once its elited. I have the best luck with the SMN-D with two uac-5s in the side torsos and four ER medium lasers in the arms

[John Stryker]

My summoner builds are fun to run. 2 erll, 2 erml, ssrm6. Also erppc, 2erml, lrm15. Also, 2 lrm20, 3 srm6. Your results may vary.

[Lunatic NEo]

I play one of em with UAC20 in the ST and 2MPL, one with 2LPL and 2MPL, one with 4LRM10 (no Artemis) and one with 2LPL 2MPL and Narc.

They run all pretty cool and are great for Brawling and Poking. Got more then 400Games on my 4 Summoners yet.

[Brandarr Gunnarson]

The Summoner is just objectively worse than other choices in the class/role.

That said, you can make it work if you employ a degree of skill; especially piloting skill (as opposed to shooting/targeting), as agility is the Summoner's best attribute.

Here are some build I've made work in order of the success I've had with them

Dual UAC5s + 2x ERML +1x MG
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...399396ffbf554a3

4x MPL + 1x ALRM15 + 2x AMS
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...9df4acf391661be

1x LPL + 3x ERML + 1x ALRM15 + 2x AMS
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...457f8e0b57be7e1

2x LPL + 3x SRM4
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...424169e8b49ca57

All these builds are based on the Summoner-D CT, as it has slightly better Quirks. They all also have a TC1 to help with crit chances and knowing where to shoot for best effect.

The mixed build in the middle have dual AMS, but that could be dropped for some tonnage savings.

The last build uses SRMs. I've never been able to use SRMs effectively on any 'Mech; it's just not the weapon for me. If you love them, this could be a very effective striker/brawler.

Hope those help you out and work well for you!

[epikt]

A popular build at the moment is simply 2 ERPPCs. It doesn't look much, but you have the cooling to shot and shot and shot.
Similar build is the classic ERPPC+gauss.

For brawling you have 5 SRM6 artemis (not exactly sure about the ammo/DHS ratio, tweak it like you want). Personally I prefer stuff like 4 SRM4 and an autocanon, but the full SRM is pretty much the consensus.
Of course you can trade the SRM for streaks if you don't want to aim. And I suppose you can do LRM...

PS: a good resource for "decent" builds.

edit: and this mech is not bad (you actually see lots of very good players piloting it)

Edited by epikt, 17 July 2016 - 01:42 AM.

[SlightlyMobileTurret]

With the right omnipods on a summoner, (and a TCIV+) you can get 2000+ m/s PPCs.

Edited by Keshav Murali, 17 July 2016 - 03:12 AM.

[Karl the Plumber]

They're fun mechs and you can build one that works for you if you put a little work into it. The consensus here in this thread is pretty spot on for my experience. Can't agree more with the skill comment; get the mech fully elited and get those double basic bonuses. PPC Summoners are excellent, UACs are fun to brawl with, and there's always the classic 5SRM Troller. The most fun I think I've had in a summoner is a 1ERPPC, 1SRM6, and 1UAC20.

Edited by Karl the Plumber, 30 September 2016 - 07:01 PM.

[Crow Splat]

Hit and run summoner that does well for me.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...ed95955b396f803

The ammo might be off from what I have in game but that's an easy adjustment.

It's not a brawler so don't stick around in fights but if you use its speed and jump jets to come from a flank it's a holy terror.

My favorite match was in this mech. I used the trenches on Polar Highlands to run all the way around the enemy. A jagermech followed me and set up in some buildings. I charged the enemy assaults from the back firing away, the jagermech started sniping and the whole enemy team turned around, exposing their backs to our friendly gunline. Less the 3 minutes and more than 500 damage later, game over.

[TheLuc]

running a summoner, I`d go for this,

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...186b497d7fa56fb

doesn't look like much but its very cool for a Clanner Mech and has a bit of every thing. Consider the setup as a jack of all trades. sure many will write up that the LRM launcher is junk but i find it very useful for targets of opportunity, plus if needed you can use it in close quarters, wont do full damage but any damage inflicted to an opponent is good anyways.

[MechB Kotare]

2x cLPL (Right arm) + 3x sSRM4 + Bap

PLay it as LPL right corner poker. Also decent for brawling, and light protected, but dont expect much.

[Arianrhod]

Unfortunately it's kind of hard to play to the Summoner's hardwired jump jets, which provide substantial lift for a heavy mech, because of the low-slung arms. However the loyalty Summoner release will present a revolution in the Summoner chassis if the omnipods get released (I've noticed that the omnipods for the loyalty Executioner are available in the warehouse even though the EXE-C is not actually available in the store, will it be the same story here?). This is due to the fact that the new Summoner omnipods will have an energy point in the right side torso, allowing for more effective PPC fire—no matter where the new hardpoint is mounted, it will pretty much certainly be higher than the current arm mount. So not only can you put your peep on the same level as your Gauss rifle, but alternatively you could just have 5 energy points instead of 4. Or 6 missile points instead of 5 since one of the new ST pods includes an additional missile point (AND an energy point, wow what a deal!).

Anyway, speculation about the future aside, right now you have to play to its forward and lateral maneuverability more than its vertical. The Summoner has some of the best quirks on a Clan mech (proof enough that it sucks as a chassis). Some structure bonus, good maneuver if you choose the right CT. And that sweet, sweet +5% speed quirk on all variants. So hit and run weapons are what's in. SRMs, ER PPCs, and, my personal favorite, the LB20x autocannon (not the ultra autocannon 20 because pellet stream? Screw that). The Summoner does of course offer a left arm with glorious LBx fire rate and spread quirks which I think give it the best LBx performance of any clan mech (not completely sure on that so don't quote me).

Now the Summoner DOES have high mount ballistics, and the right side torso is especially useful because the gun is right under your face. Perfect for the Gauss rifle. Which is why the most meta build for the Summoner involves a face-mounted Gauss rifle and a PPC in the right arm. UAC5s could also be good (read: decent enough to be playable) but I haven't gotten a chance to try it yet. One thing I wouldn't do, ironically, is take LRMs. Summoner LRM performance just leaves something to be desired. It's just not really worth the tonnage with that (extremely) limited pod space, what with Clan LRMs paling in comparison to their IS counterparts.

My personal favorite build is ER PPC in the right arm and LB20 in the left. I dish out major amounts of damage with it, and even though you're kind of at risk of Swiss Army Knifing it, it does mean you're useful in every phase of the battle and have good heat management to boot. And did I mention the LBx quirks. (Addendum: ER PPC quirks are pretty awesome too, I especially love the velocity.)

Edited by Arianrhod, 19 August 2016 - 12:13 AM.

[InspectorG]

The Reward Pods will in theory boost the Summoner to the best Clan Jumpsnipe mech with 2ERPPC, quirks, and 2 shield arms.
Likely the best it can do and it will be the best at it, long as PGI doesnt gimp the quirks.

Current builds? Well...

5ASRM6 or 5ASRM4(for better spread)

5SSRM6 light hunter - make mad cbills during light events. More mobile than the Skill-Crow. But that ammo can be tight.

Lazervomit - 2LPL+2ERML...pretty meh but quite cool. Get side pokes and you NEED angles because your convergence sucks.

UAC20 + 2MPL... for brawling.

ALRM35+2ERML... just dont.

Gauss+ERPPC, jumpsnipe. Decent but a bit weak.

2ERPPC+TC3+, dat velocity can win trades vs dakka fatmechs at range if you dont facetank.

[Deadead]

i love the summoner, though i admit it isnt the best heavy by far. my two go to builds are 2 erppc with only 1 rear armor the rest all frontloaded and legs stripped for more DHS ( i know i know bad idea but it works for me, i dance around cover a lot and try to keep some distance, rarely get legged)
and an LPL and ML in each arm. tons of heatsinks as its a dps build, always moving and brawling. first i prefer for faction warfare second for quick play. that 90+ kph speed means i use it a lot like an over-armored medium. 40 dmg punches add up quick if you aim for specific components while moving to spread dmg.

[Black Lanner]

I am new to MWO, but not to the franchise...
In the previous games you could just optimize by removing the JJ's, maxing the armor, and adding Endo, basically creating what is called the Grand Summoner (or the Thor II) in the table top lore...

Anyways, I am glad that you can't dismantle the identity of the 'mech anymore, even though it isn't optimized, the quirks make it unique. Speaking of the quirks, I would like to see them make the Alpha variant from the lore... same hard points as the Prime, but the Missile launcher in the LT is an SRM6, the Energy Hardpoint in the RA is a LPL, and the Ballistic in the LA is a Gauss. Imagine the Quirks and the fun!

Edited by Black Lanner, 14 September 2016 - 01:31 AM.

[Evilwallofdeath]

I like running 2xERSML, 2xAMS, and 3xUAC2

[Exard3k]

Running my Summoner (luv that mech) with 2xlrgpulse, 2x er-med, lrm15+Artemis (-spread left torso). On the other variant I'm running dual AMS+Overload while sacrificing Artemis and a Heat Sink.

You can also go for 2x ER-PPC. Cooldown-Quirks + cooldown module will keep you busy.

Oh and don't use the Summoner Prime. CT has one quirk less (cant remember which one) but other variants are all the same.

You have to make use of the Summoners mobility to make it shine. Go flanking with the lights/meds, take shortcuts with your JJs to get early to vital spots and use your acc/dec quirks to quickly poke around corners. Use your insane torso twist rate to spread damage across arms and torsos but stop when your arms are critical.


Mobility is key; the Summoner has it. Use it.

Edited by Exard3k, 16 September 2016 - 11:42 AM.

[Deadead]

5srm6 no art with 500 ammo (i think) and 6 heatsinks is also a lot of fun. build it with right pods and you get 14% spread reduction from quirks. taking of art didnt seem to make much difference, the extra heatsinks mean i just spam and spam and spam
mb1 all 5 mb2 all chainfire. so much fun

[Mazzyplz]

the best builds i have seen in videos or matches that seem to work well;

-2xerppc
-lrms summoner.

and jump a lot